Advice on United Kingdom qualifications

If you are applying to migrate to Australia as a teacher with qualifications from the United Kingdom, read this first.

Does AITSL consider employment-based or school-led routes into the teaching profession (e.g. Graduate Teacher Program, School Centred Training)?

AITSL can only consider initial teacher education (ITE) qualifications that result in all 3 of the below issued by the awarding institution:

a formal academic award
final academic transcript and
a statement of compulsory supervised teaching practice.

Does AITSL accept all postgraduate certificates in education or similarly named degrees?

No. As with all ITE qualifications, a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) must meet the qualification requirements set as part of the AITSL skills assessment criteria.

The following scenarios may result in a PGCE that does not meet the criterion:

A PGCE studied part-time over 1 academic year (or 12 months)
A PGCE focused on academic units only. All initial teacher education qualifications must include a program of professional studies in education relevant to the age range of the students for the occupation you have nominated that includes:
- discipline-specific curriculum
- pedagogical studies
- general education studies, and
- compulsory supervised teaching practice.
A PGCE that does not include supervised teaching practice as a compulsory component of the PGCE qualification.
A PGCE that accepts prior supervised teaching experience as advanced standing or as an entry requirement into the course.
A PGCE where the awarding institution is not able to provide the required evidence for supervised teaching practice.
A PGCE that is for in-service teachers or designed as further study on top of an initial teacher education qualification. See the FAQ on What is an initial teacher education (ITE) qualification?

Please note, AITSL is not able to provide advice on your prospective course of study nor do a pre assessment of study you have already completed. See the FAQ on ‘What should I study to gain a successful assessment’?

Does AITSL find postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) top up/top-up qualifications suitable?

In most applications, a top up PGCE is not found suitable as an ITE qualification.

PGCE top up qualifications often do not meet the qualifications criterion as an ITE due to one or more of the following factors. Generally, these qualifications:

Are studied part-time over 1 academic year (or 12 months)
Do not include compulsory supervised teaching practice assessed by the institution
May accept prior supervised teaching experience as advanced standing or as an entry requirement
Are designed as further study on top of an initial teacher education qualification.

How does AITSL assess postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) qualifications that span more than one occupation (e.g. PGCE Primary/Early years (3 – 7))?

AITSL can only consider an application that demonstrates at least 1 year of initial teacher education (ITE) study and supervised teaching practice relevant to the nominated occupation.

Where a 1 year qualification covers multiple occupations, for example, a PGCE focussed on both the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, this requirement may not be met.

Is my Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) considered a qualification in a skills assessment?

No. QTS is the accreditation that enables you to teach in state-maintained and special schools in England and Wales. As QTS is not an academic qualification, AITSL cannot consider it as part of the skills assessment.